Do it because it is in the Bible.
The Scriptures have multiple examples of people who were baptized (immersed in water), and the first example is Jesus himself.
Do it because Jesus did it.
Jesus was not baptized to wash away His sins. Jesus had no sins. Jesus was baptized to identify with God. In the historical record, God spoke from heaven when Jesus was baptized. The Holy Spirit descended on Him like a dove.
Do it as a confession of faith in the person of Jesus.
Be baptized because you want to identify with Jesus.
Baptism is a physical way to proclaim your spiritual identification with Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Do it as a proclamation of faith in the death of Jesus.
Do it as a proclamation of faith in the resurrection of Jesus.
Actually, Jesus set in place two important rituals that point toward his death and resurrection.
- At the start of His earthly ministry, Jesus went to John at the Jordan River and demonstrated water baptism.
- Near the end of His earthly ministry, on the night that He was betrayed, Jesus met with the Twelve and shared communion.
Jesus’ baptism also foreshadowed His own death, burial, and resurrection.
Do it as an affirmation of your own spiritual renewal.
The Scriptures associate baptism with faith, repentance, forgiveness, the Presence of the Holy Spirit, transformation, and a good conscience.
Baptism is a proclamation of transformation. “Look how Jesus changed me. I was dead in sin. I believe that Jesus died to remove my sin and give me a new life. Since Jesus resurrected from the dead, He enables me to have a new life in Christ.”
Do it as an act of obedience to Jesus.
Jesus commissioned his disciples to baptize people in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Peter exhorted people to be baptized in the Name of Jesus.
Do it to honor God in a tangible way.
Do it because you want people to see it.
Baptism is a picture of God’s grace in your life.
Do it because you want people to know that you are a changed person ready to live a new life.
Did you know…
Jesus routinely practiced the Jewish ritual immersion in water in a mikveh?
Mikva’ot are stepped baths filled with water large enough to fully immerse an adult. They were built to fulfill the requirement in the Law for ritual purity. See Leviticus chapters 11-15 and Numbers chapter 19. There have been almost 900 ancient mikva’ot dating to the Second Temple period (the time of Christ) discovered by archaeologists in almost every location in Israel. The Pool of Siloam was a stepped pool that would have qualified as a mikveh large enough to accomodate large numbers of individuals who were in Jerusalem to visit the holy Temple. Jesus and his disciples would have used the Pool of Siloam before ascending to the Temple Mount. On the Day of Pentecost, the Pool of Siloam is the likely site of the baptisms of Acts 2:41.
So those who accepted his message were baptized, and on that day about three thousand souls were added.